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US lists polar bears as endangered

The US Government has listed polar bears as an endangered
species, warning that melting of Arctic sea ice was threatening
their habitat.

"Today I am listing the polar bear as a threatened species under
the Endangered Species Act," Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne
said, after satellite imagery found ice coverage had fallen to its
lowest level yet recorded.

He told a news conference that the Government was acting on
advice from scientists and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

"While the legal standards under the ESA compel me to list the
polar bear as threatened, I want to make clear that this listing
will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from
melting," Kempthorne said.

"Any real solution requires action by all major economies for it
to be effective."

Kempthorne detailed greater steps to monitor polar bear
populations in Alaska and outlying islands in the Beaufort Sea, and
more co-operation with other governments to protect the
species.

But Canada, home to two-thirds of the total polar bear
population of up to 25,000, has not listed the species as
threatened.

A Canadian panel last month urged Canada to act to safeguard the
polar bear, which it recommended designating as a species "of
special concern" but not one imminently threatened with
extinction.

Kempthorne, however, said the polar bear was "likely to become
in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future" without
preventive action.

The interior secretary displayed images showing Arctic sea ice
fell to its lowest level ever recorded by satellite, 39 per cent
below the long-term average from 1979 to 2000.

He added that "loss of sea ice, not oil and gas development or
subsistence activity" by indigenous communities was to blame for
the decline of polar bears.

The Administration of President George Bush supports oil
drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge in Alaska, adamant that
industry will act responsibly to protect species such as polar
bears.